It’s a brand new year! Where did 2020, I mean 2022 go? Another year is behind us and a “clean slate” in front of us. 2022 brought some interesting challenges and opportunities both at work and personally. As I’ve done for the last several years, I’ve been thinking about my three words for 2023. Have you ever picked 3 words to define you any given year? Give it a shot this year!
The three words you pick should be actionable words, not phrases, that help guide everything you do for the year to reach your goals. These are your words and they may not mean a thing to someone else. But, as long as you know what they mean, and more importantly consistently hammered into your daily life, you will accomplish what you seek.
For some examples, here are my 3 words for the last few years:
- 2018 (Forward, Ant, Memories)
- 2019 (Bold, Read, Service)
- 2020 (Change, Forward, Persistence)
- 2021 (Transformation, Build, Composure)
- 2022 (Character, Delivery, Creativity)
As I review my 3 words for last year – Character / Delivery / Creativity – I see that those were indeed defining words for 2022. Everything starts with character! People like to buy from people and businesses they like and trust. I truly believe we worked really hard on building solid relationships in our organization in 2022 that will pay dividends for us in 2023 and beyond. Personally, I tried to stand strong amidst the fiery darts being wielded at my family at various times in 2022. I no doubt blew it a few times, but always tried to remember character, character, character when times were trying.
Delivery is something that my wife often reminds me of, especially as it relates to our children. She says, “Greg, you need to work on your delivery. What you are saying is true, but the delivery could be better.” So, if it’s true with the ones dearest to me I assume others are affected by it too, so that’s a focus of mine. And delivery is also consistent with us at work, in that we have to deliver a consistent, reliable product and service to our customers every single time. During every encounter in 2022 I remembered this word. Perhaps not when I should’ve, but I did. This is something I intend to keep a part of me because it’s not only what you say, but how you say it that matters. And, with our relatively new product line at work, every single installation has to be right – all the time with no exceptions.
Lastly, creativity was chosen for two specific reasons. One, we have to be creative in the market when it comes to presenting, tailoring, and “delivering” our solutions. I really think we did a great job with this in 2022. Our teams worked really hard to creatively craft solutions for customers that met their expectations while working within our technical and resource boundaries and consistently delivered on their promises. And the other reason I chose creativity was personal. I love writing, playing guitar, and drawing, but have taken little time for any of these in the last couple of years. Shortly after writing my 3 words for 2022 I went out and bought an electric guitar and amplifier. I’d never had an electric guitar, as I’d always played an acoustic guitar. I enjoyed playing guitar more and writing a bit more in 2022. And, oh yeah, I did start a blog in 2022.
For 2023 I’ve chosen these three words: Now, Open, and Focus. I chose Now because now is the time. We have a great solution to offer our customers and NOW is the time for us to prove to them once again why we are the only real option for them. I picked Open because I want to continue to be an open book both with my team and my family. Life works best when folks always know where you stand and feel encouraged to let you know where they stand. Lastly I picked Focus because in life and business I intend to be laser focused in hitting goals. I’ve set up some monthly rhythms with my team and I consistently “check in” with my family. I feel that these three work together pretty well too. If I’m FOCUSED, then the time is NOW. And, if I’m FOCUSED NOW the folks around me will know it because I’m OPEN!
Thank you for reading this far. As I’ve mentioned before, I’d love for you to participate. Pick your three words, share them with someone and work to help each other and hold each other accountable. As a reminder, the three words are actionable words, not phrases, that can help guide everything you do for the year. These are your words so make them count. All the best to you and yours in 2023.
Happy New Year!
The Brewer Family 